


Lost in the Dark

by sanjariti



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Demon!Bucky Barnes, Gen, Halloween Challenge, a dog gets kicked so dont read if u dont wanna see that, very spooky but not scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:58:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16033457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanjariti/pseuds/sanjariti
Summary: Fairytales and fables exist for a reason. James knows too well; he’s the main character of one.





	Lost in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> just a note - i don't write new fics for this character anymore, i'm just reposting my tumblr fics onto ao3 so i don't lose my work! thanks for any and all feedback - it is much appreciated! <3333

Once upon a time, there was a little boy.

He was a nobody. A familiar, faded face in a sea of familiar, faded faces.

Once upon a time, there was a forest.

A massive, infinite sea of green and black.

Once upon a time, there a little boy, standing at the edge of a forest.

The forest was unexplored. Mysterious and dark, the ominous territory sat on the outskirts of the village. The little boy stood at the very edge of the forest, a bright white line at the edge of his shoes.

The village mayor had ordered that the line be painted, in order to prevent anyone from entering unknown territory. Alas, the little boy did not care.

Every day, he inched closer and closer, until his feet rested on the ultimate edge of the line.

Would he cross? Only time could tell.

Eventually, months passed. He never set foot over the line, until one night.

He was staring into the darkness, straining his ears for something; anything. He leaned over, reaching for his school bag when he heard a soft rustle.

The child immediately froze, his eyes still on his bag. Silence. He rested his hand on the handle of the bag, and the rustle sounded once more, closer.

The child stopped once again, refusing to move.

_You know you want to._

“Who said that?” The boy whispered. He saw his breath in the suddenly chilly air, his hand trembling.

_Come with me._

“Who… who are you?” He stood like a statue, rooted to the spot. The hair on his arms was standing straight, his entire body shivering from the ominous cold overshadowing him.

_Come with me, or the hounds will get you. They’re coming._

As soon as the voice faded, the child heard the distant howls of the bloodhounds. They were released every night to do their hunting, and if they found him here, on the outskirts of the forest, he was as good as dead.

“Are you going to hurt me?” The boy whispered.

_Not if you behave._

_Time’s ticking, boy. Step over the line, or lose your life._

Since that night, the boy was never seen again.

* * *

“So, why am I telling you this story again?”

“Because I am the little boy, stubborn and stupid.” You sighed, rolling your eyes as you crossed your arms over your chest. Your uncle chuckled, shaking his head as he stood up from your bed.

“You are neither of those things, Y/N. You are determined and hard headed, yes, but you have a good heart. We don’t want to lose that good heart.”

“You mean  _you_  don’t want to lose it. Father could care less.” You muttered, your gaze focused on the heavy drapes of your window across the room.

“That isn’t true, and you know it. Now, I must go. Just promise me you won’t return to the forest.” Your uncle comes to your side, resting his hand on your shoulder. You reluctantly meet his gaze, feigning a smile as you nod. “Thank you.”

Once he leaves, you strip the blankets resting on top of you, practically jumping out of bed.

“Once in a lifetime opportunity. Might as well make the best of it.”

* * *

You carefully slip through the halls of the grand castle, your boots in one hand, your dog’s leash in the other. Once you make it to the stables, you slip on your coat, the cold wind nipping at your skin. You tie your hair back into a braid as you make your way to the end of the stables.

“Hi there, pretty.” You whisper, holding your hand out as the mare slowly makes her way towards you. “Want to come out for a little night ride?” You stroke her mane, pulling out the leash before taking a step back. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

You take a sharp right turn, opening the door to the lone stall. A small whine sounds as you enter, snapping your fingers as quietly as possible.

“C’mere, boy. You know I can’t leave without you.” The dog slowly rises from its bed, shaking his body as he walks towards you. You latch on the leash, peppering kisses atop his head before leading him out. You make your way back to the mare’s stall, carefully carrying your saddle over to her.

Finally ready, you set out into the fields, quickly and quietly making your way to your secret backdoor, which lead out towards the forest.

“If only they knew.” You whisper to yourself, shaking your head as you make your way through the wooded corridor behind the fields.

After a short while, the familiar wooden area opens up, right in front of the forest. You come down from the saddle, the sleepy mutt following close behind. You let the mare graze in the grass patches by the woods, loosely tying her reins to the nearest tree.

You come up to the faded white line at the edge of the forest, your dog nosing around your feet, his leash tightly wound in the palm of your hand.

“It’s now or never, Charlie.” You scratch the back of the dog’s head, taking a deep breath before slowly crossing the line with your right foot. Once it hit the ground, nothing changed. You smiled to yourself, sighing in relief as you took another step forward. The dog followed, softly padding on the forest floor as you both slowly moved inwards. The bright moonlight shined down through the thickets above, lighting your dismal path into the unknown.

It felt like hours of walking, the only noise being the soft steps both you and Charlie took. The scenery had yet to change. Rows upon rows of massive trees, blanketed in moss and ivy. Small groups of brightly colored flowers littering the ground, mushrooms and forgotten fruits laying about.

You were admiring the natural beauty of everything around you, curious as to why so many people considered the forest to be something it clearly was not. You felt it was due time to turn back, until you felt a harsh tug on the leash.

You had stopped to take a drink of water from your pouch when you turned to see Charlie straining against his leash, trying to move ahead.

“Hey stop that. We’re going to go home soon.” The dog ignored you, softly growling as he continued to fight against his restraints. “Stupid mutt, what is it?” You tucked the pouch away, letting the dog lead you in his direction.

You found yourself on the edge of a crystalline lake. It was a perfect circle, the water clear as day. The lake seemed infinite; you couldn’t tell what was at the bottom; or if there even  _was_  a bottom.

Charlie stopped in his tracks, immediately dropping to his belly, his tail between his legs. You sat down next to him, rubbing his back as you looked at the lake. You reached out to dip your hand in the water, only to have the dog jump onto your arm, bringing you down with his weight. You groan, trying to push him off.

“What the hell was that for, Charlie? Dammit,” You muttered, finally turning over, pushing him off. The dog whined, pawing at the ground behind you as you stood up, dusting your clothes off. As you turned to grab his leash, he started barking aggressively.

“You stupid dog, shut  _up_.” You grab the leash, looking up in time to catch a pair of bright blue eyes staring at you from across the lake. You scream for a moment, falling backwards as you trip over Charlie’s leash, the dog still barking as you land on your back with a dull thud. You scramble onto your knees, pulling Charlie to your side as you search for the eyes you had seen just a moment before, only to find blackness everywhere.

“What the  _hell_ was that?”

“Never would’ve pegged the princess to have a foul mouth.” A soft, deep voice echoes from behind you, and you yelp, nearly crushing your companion underneath you as you fall down once more.

You lock eyes with the thing is in the forest, its gaze glowing amidst the darkness. “What… what  _are_ you?” You ask, your voice barely a whisper as you continue staring.

You hear a dark chuckle, and the blue eyes suddenly disappear. You’re terrified to turn around, but you push your fear aside as you search your surroundings.

“How about I tell you a story, darling princess?” The same voice asks, but you see nothing in the forest. You shake your head, Charlie crawling up into your lap. “Please, princess? I promise it’ll be worth your while.”

“Are you going to kill me?” The words leave your tongue before you can stop them, and you clap a hand over your mouth as your eyes widen, your heartbeat racing.

A quiet, eerie laugh echoes around you, and you suddenly find it very hard to breathe.

“Like this, princess?” You feel something tight around your throat, and your vision goes blurry with tears as you struggle to breathe. Then, the tightness disappears, and you’re heaving, your throat burning.

“I could if I wanted to, but I want to tell you a story. Will you let me?” You can barely breathe, let alone speak, so you nod your head, hoping whatever was speaking would see you.

“Wonderful! Here we go. Once upon a time, there was a girl. A young, beautiful girl. She was a pretty little thing, and quite naive, too. She spent her days doing as others told her to do, earning her the title of ‘obedient’. One day, the young girl found herself longing for a friend. She never made any since she was always so busy doing what others said. She went out into the village gardens, making her way to the woods. Oh, but the woods were quite forbidden. No one was allowed to enter; it was strictly off limits for all the villagers. But the young girl ignored this. She made her way into the woods, finding a lake, just like this one.”

You don’t know how, but you find yourself staring at the lake, the crystal clear water rippling around the edges as if someone had skipped a rock or two.

“The young girl made herself a friend, and I do quite mean literally  _made_  herself a friend. Her friend was made up of sticks and stones, with no face. She spent her days in the woods, talking to her friend about her day. The years went by, and soon the young girl turned into a young woman. She tried her best to keep her tradition going, but alas, adulthood calls for other things. She abandoned her stick friend, leaving him out to rot away in the woods. The end.”

_That’s it?_

“Did you not like my story, princess?” The voice asks, and you mentally curse yourself before swallowing.

“It was good, I liked it!” You say in a rather high-pitched voice, your nerves getting the best of you.

“That’s not what you said before.”  _It can read my mind?!_ “Yes, and I’m not an  _it_ , princess. I’m a ‘he’, thank you very much.” The voice is annoyed, and you bite back your tongue physically and mentally. If ‘he’ can read your thoughts, it’s best to keep quiet.

“Shall I tell you another?” You swallow, unsure of how to respond. “I think you’ll quite like this one, princess.” You nod your head, your teeth digging into your bottom lip as you hug Charlie closer to you.

“Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was a nobody. A familiar, faded face in a sea of familiar, faded faces. Once upon a time, there was a forest. A massive, infinite sea of green and black.”  _Wait a minute. I_ know _this story._

“How do you know it?” The voice asks suddenly, surprised and shocked by your thoughts. You look down at Charlie, afraid to meet his eyes.

“It’s an old fable. When I was younger, my father and uncle always told it to me every time I would try to come here. Said there was a monster who ate children living amongst these trees.” You close your eyes, afraid of what could happen next. A heavy silence fell, the voice gone. You finally look up, seeing nothing out of the ordinary; no eyes.

“Well, do you know how that story ends?” The voice asks quietly, the eyes appearing across the lake once again. You shake your head, fear coursing through your veins as you watch the eyes fade away.

“Well, you see,  **given the chance to run, the boy should’ve taken it. Perhaps then, he might’ve had even a little hope of escape.**  Instead of running into the arms of safety, he ran towards the unknown. The darkness. Why do you think that is?”

“No idea.”

“Can you guess what lives here?”

“A monster.”

“What’s worse than a monster?” You sigh, closing your eyes as you think to yourself.

“A demon.”

“Bingo, baby.” You open your eyes, gasping loudly as you see a man walk out of the shadows; blue eyes glowing bright like the ocean waters, looking straight at you. You crawl backwards, trying to maximize the distance between you as he makes his way around the lake’s edge.

“You… you’re a  _fucking_  demon?” The man laughs, shaking his head as he squats down, only a few feet away from you and Charlie. He’s avoiding your gaze, and it takes every ounce of your self-control to not throw a rock at his head. When he looks up at you, his blue eyes are replaced with black, a smile dawning on his lips as he tilts his head.

“I’m James, at your service. But my, what a dirty mouth you have, Your Highness. You most certainly have the makings of a demon.”

“No way in hell.” You spit out, scrambling to get up from the ground, Charlie barking incessantly at the demon named James. He laughs, his blue eyes returning as he raises his hand, shoving you against the closest tree. You find yourself unable to move, your heartbeat loud in your ears as he walks up to you, kicking Charlie to the side. He rests a hand on the tree, the other snaking around your throat. He smiles, leaning in until his lips brush against the edge of your ear.

“We’ll just have to see about that.”


End file.
